NIU controller sees charges dropped in 'coffee fund' scandal

DeKalb County prosecutors dropped their case Monday against a high-ranking Northern Illinois University official who had been caught up in the so-called coffee fund scandal, the alleged scheme in which workers sold university scrap materials and deposited the proceeds in an unofficial bank account.

State's Attorney Richard Schmack, who was not in office when the charges were filed last year, said NIU Controller Keith Jackson was unaware of the "coffee fund" bank account. NIU employees were selling recyclable materials, including those from campus building renovations, depositing the money into the bank account and using the proceeds as a slush fund for holiday parties and other social functions, authorities alleged.

Jackson, of Hinckley, was charged in October with felony misconduct, felony obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor violation of state law. NIU officials subsequently put him on paid leave, but they returned him to his job in January.

As controller, Jackson, 56, is responsible for the university's bank accounts. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

"It does not appear that he was aware of the existence" of the account, Schmack said in a statement. "When the fund became a matter of public knowledge, Jackson, acting at the direction of superiors, who had also been unaware of the account, took control of the funds and deposited them into another university account properly under his control."

At least $13,000 had been deposited into the account in the past six years, and about $2,100 was in it when it was closed in August and the balance transferred to the university's general fund, authorities said.

Schmack said Jackson "acted fully and properly within the scope of his employment, without criminal aim or purpose, and the ends of justice would not be served by his continued prosecution."

Schmack previously dropped charges against two other employees, and one former employee pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Five employees still face charges in connection with the alleged fund, which has been investigated by the NIU police department.